After The Air Raid by Zevious

The trio’s second album is purportedly heavier and somewhat nastier than its first jazz-trio date. They’ve upped the ante during this aerial assault, that owes homage to some of the great jazz-rock and progressive-rock power trios of our time. The band is thoroughly hip and sustains a great deal of interest throughout. Moreover, the musicians benefit from a broad and sparkling audio sound that provides a bit of justice to these largely forceful pieces, teeming with impact and sinewy developments.

When performing on electric bass, Johnny DeBlase instills a chromium-like underpinning amid these quirky themes and unanticipated surprises. On occasion, the trio launches into a weighty King Crimson type motif via pounding and odd-metered rhythmic passages. However, guitarist Mike Eber helps sustain a fluid pace with his edgy, distortion-laced guitar lines and linear soloing efforts. It’s a tightly run ship, indeed; although, they leave ample amounts of time and space for off-kilter diversions and viscous prog-rock burners, touched with an ominous blitzkrieg on "iNCITING." Here, the band morphs a crash and burn aura into the big picture. But "After the Air Raid," features a haunting guitar-bass ostinato, shaded by drummer Jeff Eber’s swooshing cymbals, where the trio elicits imagery of an inquisition of sorts.

Zevious generates the knockout blow within these climactically designed song-forms built on power and speed. The band offers a notable antidote to the tried and true, and thankfully, this album isn’t centered upon extended solo jaunts coupled with humdrum material. Among many positives, the trio blends old-school prog with a creative spirit that draws upon variable metrics while maintaining a distinct group-focused sound and style throughout.